Whose roads are these, really?

Along with 60,000 other daily commuters, I enter and exit Interstate 25 at Colo. 66 five days a week. With these other daily commuters, I know for certain that we are using a state highway. Others who commute or travel for other reasons in the northern Colorado region may not be as aware of what system of roads takes them to their destination. It is sufficient to the regional travelers to know that they are using a reliable route, and it isn’t necessary to them to know if the road is constructed and maintained by the state of Colorado, a county or a city. Reliability is important for all travelers, and that reliability has a price.

In a previous column, I suggested that the third-party payer system we have for transportation in Colorado is problematic. For instance, if I use a combination of state, county and local roads to complete a trip across northern Colorado, the route I used was regional and the responsibility of the region. As assessed a couple of years ago, 85 percent of the daily travel in the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization occurs within the boundaries of the region. Providing for this regional travel is a regional responsibility.

Whose roads are these, really? They are a regional responsibility.

Current methods used to assess traffic allow transportation experts to determine where travelers on almost any of our roadways are from. A recent assessment of Colo. 257 near Windsor in Weld County revealed that 40 percent of the traffic came from Larimer County. And in turn, I believe that it is safe to say that the roads in Larimer received wear and tear from Weld travelers as well. I would argue that because of this crossover, regional transportation needs are a regional responsibility.

The Colorado Department of Transportation has had a general mission beginning around 1909 of providing a state highway system that connected communities within the state. Through the department’s evolution, it now has responsibility for metropolitan area streets (Colorado Boulevard, Alameda, Federal Boulevard, University Boulevard), major thruways (C-470, Academy Boulevard, U.S. 24 Bypass), and an interstate system with components of urban and rural areas.

Gov. Bill Ritter has recently initiated a systematic study of transportation funding for Colorado. I believe thoughtful consideration of the question “Whose roads are these, really?” in this study will be very helpful in the search for needed transportation funding. I’m currently working on a House Joint Resolution that if adopted by the state House and Senate will request that the state Department of Transportation assist the General Assembly in answering the question.

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Glenn Vaad, a Republican, represents state House District 48, which includes a portion of Weld County.